LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0 - Page 193

colemonkee · #**3841** Posted **Apr 18, 2012, 6:12 AM**

^ That's because everyone was caught up in another one of those city vs. city arguments that generally have nothing to do with actual downtown development. And people get all bent out of shape when I go in and clean things up.

Personally I'm thrilled to see the Brockman finally open. It was at the very top of my list of buildings to buy in when I started looking in January. Of 2005. Back then it was scheduled for a late 2005/early 2006 opening.

citywatch · #**3842** Posted **Apr 18, 2012, 7:17 AM**

^ the earlier announcement of the bldg's sale didn't contain a specific date when the new owner would start leasing apts in the bldg. I didn't think the process would begin for a few more months, so news that ppl can start signing up to rent at the end of this month is a welcome surprise.

here are some inside shots of the bldg. Only thing I'm not a big fan of are the exposed, unpainted concrete ceilings. I wonder what the ceilings in the original bldg looked like? If that deconstructionist style ever becomes passe in the future, I can see the owner being lobbied by tenants to redo the ceilings so they're more like the way they were when the bldg first opened in the early 1900s.

simpsonpropertygroup.com

ChrisLA · #**3843** Posted **Apr 18, 2012, 3:16 PM**

I love that bathroom and the wood floors as I'm not a big fan of concrete floors. Well it's about time they opened, what a long time coming.

Anyway just a bit of history on my part, I worked in a sandwich shop in this building during the summer of 1981 when I was 17 years old. The top floors were empty and was mostly used for storage. The sandwich shop used space for storage as well.

The elevator was manually operated, and I was like a kid in a candy store. I remember having fun going up and down and making it stop and start suddenly. It was so old I could have caused that thing to break. We also went snooping around on the upper floors, fun days that was.

pesto · #**3844** Posted **Apr 18, 2012, 5:55 PM**

Another picture of the development. Looks pretty icky. I'd much rather something less...sign-y. It seems this sign district keeps expanding and expanding. Soon enough, it will end up hitting the historic core, and that won't be good at all.

Also, why does L.A. keep trying to emulate other cities? They're calling this L.A.'s 'Gaslamp' or 'French Quarter'. Cant this just be L.A.? And does L.A. really want a Gaslamp or French Quarter? Wasn't Times Square enough?[/QUOTE]

Agree completely. But it should be "why do so many forumers want LA to emulate mid-sized or hick cities?" Let's get a plastic French Quarter and a plastic Gaslamp District; that will really impress the urbanists worldwide.

My fundamental thought here is that AEG can do whatever they want with their money. But AEG has so far been a total loss on the aesthetic side and this kind of non-organic development is already way over-done at Staples (and the proposed stadium next door). Another “Gaslamp District” is about the last thing I would recommend for a city trying to build a real DT instead of, say, DT Disney.

If LA needs a French Quarter, it should be on or near Bway. But I would prefer a “Lower East Side” quarter, maybe between South Park and the Fashion District, where there are many new hotels going in, signs of economic life and reasonable rents. But AEG wants to use their economic muscle to squelch this development, as well as Bway's potential. (Ever notice AEG propose anything near Bway?).

Notice again, that this plays into the “everything on the same block” mentality which some find very appealing. Baby cities put everything in their 2 blocks of real DT; big cities don’t. Giants/Jets Stadium, Lincoln Center, Times Sq., Javitz Convention Center and Greenwich Village are MILES from each other even in the densest city in country. Yet LA wants to put them next to each other and forget about the rest of the city. Great for AEG; horrible for LA.

ChelseaFC · #**3845** Posted **Apr 18, 2012, 6:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by pesto

Agree completely. But it should be "why do so many forumers want LA to emulate mid-sized or hick cities?" Let's get a plastic French Quarter and a plastic Gaslamp District; that will really impress the urbanists worldwide.

This looks like the Linq in Vegas, not a "plastic French Quarter". Please do elaborate on why you feel that something like the Linq will not "impress urbanists worldwide".

Quote:

If LA needs a French Quarter, it should be on or near Bway.

Huizar is working on that. AEG is proposing this for another area that is underutilized and undeveloped. What else would you prefer to go in this area?

Quote:

But I would prefer a “Lower East Side” quarter, maybe between South Park and the Fashion District, where there are many new hotels going in, signs of economic life and reasonable rents. But AEG wants to use their economic muscle to squelch this development, as well as Bway's potential. (Ever notice AEG propose anything near Bway?).

Which development exactly are they squelching? Anyone can purchase and devleop land in the Fashion District and Broadway. Why is that AEG's job?

Quote:

Notice again, that this plays into the “everything on the same block” mentality which some find very appealing. Baby cities put everything in their 2 blocks of real DT; big cities don’t. Giants/Jets Stadium, Lincoln Center, Times Sq., Javitz Convention Center and Greenwich Village are MILES from each other even in the densest city in country. Yet LA wants to put them next to each other and forget about the rest of the city. Great for AEG; horrible for LA.

LA is not a baby city. But it does have a baby downtown. Which is why this is appropriate. The more downtown development LA gets right now, the better.

BrandonJXN · #**3846** Posted **Apr 18, 2012, 7:37 PM**

http://brighamyen.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/sassony-group-broadway-mall-lrg.jpg

Quote:

Back in 2007, you may remember that the short nondescript building that stands at the corner of 4th and Broadway (NE corner) caught on fire in the wee hours of the night. For over 5 years since the fire, the tattered structure has stood empty surrounded by scaffolds waiting for the right time to be redeveloped. Could we be close to seeing some development activity as momentum is gaining on Broadway after both Umamicatessen and Famima have recently opened?

I spoke to a rep at Sassony Group (the owners of the building) who informed me of some exciting changes that are coming soon. Sassony Group plans to demolish the building that’s currently there at 4th/Broadway and replace it with a new one, dubbed simply The Broadway Mall, that will be aimed at bringing back “upscale shopping and dining.” The shopping center will “feature 42,000 square feet of retail space” and a “25,000 square foot Rooftop Entertainment Sky Park featuring a pedestrian friendly Passage, Artwork Display & Kiosks.”

The plans are still in their preliminary stages and with a build-to-suit option of up to 30,000 square feet, you could theoretically have a grocery store on the ground floor. A Fresh & Easy would seem like the most likely possibility if that were to happen today.

Although the design of the Broadway Mall is preliminary, I am still concerned about its design based on the rendering provided. It just seems like the design is trying too hard to “match” historic aesthetics on Broadway that make it look contrived and fake (like The Grove, etc). I understand that Broadway is a historic street, but modern designs can be executed well and respectful of their neighbors. Design for today instead of mocking the old. Cities like New York, Chicago, London, or Montreal all do fantastic jobs incorporating new buildings with old buildings harmoniously, giving the cities a sense of “living evolution” that could not happen if they all pretended to be stuck in the past.

http://brighamyen.com/2012/04/18/sassony...ted-for-4th-and-broadway-in-downtown-la/

ChelseaFC · #**3847** Posted **Apr 18, 2012, 7:50 PM**

I disagree that this structure is trying to "match Broadway's historic aesthethics". It doesn't look like any of the 1920s buildings on Broadway, rather it more closely resembles the multitude of mid-century buildings in the Fashion District. Could it have been more modern? Yes. But fits in well for that area. It doesn't look "fake" at all.

Illithid Dude · #**3848** Posted **Apr 18, 2012, 9:52 PM**

That is excruciatingly ugly. And no residential component to go with it? It looks like something on Van Nuys.

BrandonJXN · #**3849** Posted **Apr 18, 2012, 10:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

That is excruciatingly ugly. And no residential component to go with it? It looks like something on Van Nuys.

I'd rather have the burned out building than this boil.

colemonkee · #**3850** Posted **Apr 18, 2012, 11:50 PM**

If clad in limestone, this might not be half bad. But given LA's recent development history, this will probably be stucco, which would be terrible. I like the open air dining option, but agree that residential on top would be the best use of the land. That being said, if we get a development with this type of programming here, but with a different design, it could start some action on the parking lot behind it and the parking lot across the street from that, both of which would really help flesh out that area. Those two lots could easily take 10-20 story residential towers with (gasp!) plenty of parking.

BrandonJXN · #**3851** Posted **Apr 19, 2012, 12:15 AM**

Which area of downtown will be the next hot area to see development? I think it's time for developers to start looking at Little Tokyo. Both Little Tokyo and the Arts District both can be truly great neighborhoods. I wonder why no one has really looked that direction?

DJM19 · #**3852** Posted **Apr 19, 2012, 2:04 AM**

People need to email the city and developers about these developments. What the city really needs to to is set up stricter community guidelines and a design committee to judge these things.

This sort of faux historicity should not be allowed. I know there is an element out there that likes it and has the money to build it, but if that must be the case they need to put in the detail that makes it actually fit in with the rest of the buildings. There are so many corners cut in this design it becomes so obvious that this is a design straight out of a Porter Ranch big box strip mall.

Also a housing component would be nice.

Illithid Dude · #**3853** Posted **Apr 19, 2012, 2:05 AM**

Oh, look, more renderings. This are of the new Convention Center/Farmers Field thing.

All from the Farmers Field Facebook Page.

BrandonJXN · #**3854** Posted **Apr 19, 2012, 2:29 AM**

Jesus Christ!

DJM19 · #**3855** Posted **Apr 19, 2012, 2:45 AM**

What happened to the more modern looking rendering of just a few weeks ago? Is that a different part of the building?

Illithid Dude · #**3856** Posted **Apr 19, 2012, 2:50 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJM19

What happened to the more modern looking rendering of just a few weeks ago? Is that a different part of the building?

Yeah, this is the older part of the convention center.

all of the trash · #**3857** Posted **Apr 19, 2012, 2:56 AM**

Those renderings are pretty generous with regards to the park space. I'm sure the area will be popping when events but no ones gonna be ice skating and hanging around the park areas in the middle of the day. There is literally no neighborhood in and around AEG land.

Illithid Dude · #**3858** Posted **Apr 19, 2012, 3:03 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by all of the trash

Those renderings are pretty generous with regards to the park space. I'm sure the area will be popping when events but no ones gonna be ice skating and hanging around the park areas in the middle of the day. There is literally no neighborhood in and around AEG land.

By the time all of this is done, in four years, there will be a neighborhood. Or at least more of one then there is now.

Allnatural85 · #**3859** Posted **Apr 19, 2012, 3:09 AM**

seeing the Staples center reminds me that all three teams that the Staples Center is home too are in in the Playoff this year... Kings, Clippers, and Lakers... should keep local businesses busy =) Sorry if that was off topic... just good news

BrandonJXN · #**3860** Posted **Apr 19, 2012, 3:14 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Allnatural85

seeing the Staples center reminds me that all three teams that the Staples Center is home too are in in the Playoff this year... Kings, Clippers, and Lakers... should keep local businesses busy =) Sorry if that was off topic... just good news

Makes up for the slump in business earlier this year because of the lockout.

I'm glad Chick Hearn will finally be made into a plaza (why it isn't one already is beyond me) but I would love to see some sort of fountain somewhere. People like fountains and it'll create a sort of meeting point for people. It's the details I suppose.